


Ebony and March

by Effenay



Series: Effenay's collection of original short stories [3]
Category: Original Work
Genre: Death, F/M, Funeral, Misunderstandings, Oneshot, Short Story
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-06-28
Updated: 2020-06-28
Packaged: 2021-03-04 05:21:37
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Major Character Death
Chapters: 1
Words: 870
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/24964417
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Effenay/pseuds/Effenay
Summary: A girl visits her classmate's funeral
Series: Effenay's collection of original short stories [3]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1806841
Kudos: 2





	Ebony and March

**Author's Note:**

> I merely removed this chapter off of one of my other works and posted it individually. So my apologies.

_This is merely a self-assessment._

_Inferior, low self-esteemed. A coward who can’t decide to allow myself to sink or make an effort to stay afloat. The most mediocre who can’t accept mediocrity._

_Friends are not permanent. They were just passing ships that crossed my view for a moment, and drift off when it was time to go._

Ebony sat at the corner of the funeral parlour, away from human eyes as she observed every guest within the room. No tears. Contrary to the traditional shade of black, the lot of them had donned formal, but colourful clothes.

 _If I had known,_ she grimaced at her uncomfortably short-hemmed dress. _I shouldn’t have chosen this._

Though there were tears here and there from those who appeared closest to March, it was unusual to see the smiles among those familiar to her.

“Do you remember the time when March yanked off the Bunsen burner and lit his notebook on fire?”

“Never a dull moment with him around.”

“He was obsessed with those cards.”

“-March had to be-”

“-Miss him already-”

Leaning back against her chair, Ebony crossed her arms and stared at the ceiling. Murmurs with happy intonations hung in the air for a mere seatmate named ‘March Jones’. She wasn’t close to him. Not in the slightest.

_Ah, that’s not right._

She was his seating buddy after all. The kind of boy who could easily strike up a conversation within a heartbeat. To his closest friends, he would wear that mischievous smile. To people like her, he’d keep conversations civil to school-related topics. Surprisingly, even his friends are smiling too brightly than what people would’ve expected.

_What, did he not matter to them at all?_

With her head still hanging against the back of her chair, she eyed the portrait next to the bouquets of flowers. A mild smile on a chiselled face, curtained with streaks of blond and brunette hair.

He wasn’t particularly handsome, nor was he someone who stood out. She didn’t think much of him, when he was there, he was there. When he was gone, he’s gone. And now he’s gone for good.

_What kind of life did you live before everything else happened?_

Ebony could not decide to feel sad or discomforted at the loss. There were no significant ties to him, just spontaneous happenstances. He was just a boy she knew.

_Why did I come here?_

She entertained the thought of leaving, having to feel out of place amidst this unusually cheery crowd until she felt a tap on her shoulder.

Straightening her posture, she turned around.

“Is your name Ebony?” asked a middle-aged woman.

“Yes?”

“I’m March’s mother, Ellie.”

“Oh,” Ebony tucked away any loose strands and tugged the hem as low as she could. “My condolences on your loss.”

“Thank you for coming, Ebony,” she curled her lips sweetly, a hint of melancholy in her eyes. “I’ve heard a lot about you from March.”

“Really?” I blinked. _But I hardly knew the guy._

“He had always been meaning to thank you for helping him during class.”

“…Is that so?”

Ellie’s smile grew wider and turned around after she said; “Wait here just a moment, I remembered I have something for you.”

“-Ah, but wai-”

March’s mother left, leaving her with more questions. Racking her brain on what she had said, Ebony’s thoughts ran wild.

_Me? March and Me? What am I supposed to do with that when we’ve only spoken in class?_

Ellie came back with a small wrapped box in hand.

“Here,” Ellie handed over the gift. “He said we wanted you to have it.”

“Ah, but I can’t accept it-”

“I want you to have it,” she grabbed the girl’s hand and rested the gift onto it. “March would be happy if you accepted it.”

***

She fell on the couch as soon as Ebony got home, sprawling her limbs at the length of the soft cushions. With the gift still in her hand, she sighed at the thought.

_I guess I did the right thing? Telling her that I didn’t know that well him other than class?_

The glossy green wrapping was marked with the name ‘Ebony’ on it. Curious what it was, the girl tore the package open, only to have a card fall on her face. Taking the card off to have a better look, she gaped at the contents of the card.

_Dear Ebony,_

_I know this is sudden, but I like you. I liked you since our time in class together. I just wanted you to know that._

_March_

_I don’t know what to think. If he liked me, he could have told me. Why did he like me? What did I do to make him like me? I don’t… deserve to be liked…_

Her eyes pointed to the unwrapped gift. It was a plain, cardboard box without any labels or packaging info. Upon opening it, revealed a book of romantic poems.

_Was this… how he sees me?_

Her chest panged at the thought then noticed a bookmark sitting between the pages. Opening to that marked page, only then did she realize how foolish she was.

On that bookmark wrote:

_For Ebony Smith._

Her name is Ebony _Sanders._


End file.
